


Congratulations

by Broken_Twisted_Lullabies



Series: The Braeden Pamphlet, have you read this? [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Hunting, Big Brother Gabriel, Dean messed up and Gabe's here to tell him just how badly he did, M/M, Protective Gabriel, reference to affair, reference to cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Twisted_Lullabies/pseuds/Broken_Twisted_Lullabies
Summary: It's been three weeks since Cas left and Dean doesn't know how he's gonna apologize to Cas and fix all this. When Gabriel drops by his office, he suddenly realizes his apologies won't be enough.[inspired by the cut song from Hamilton: Congratulations]
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: The Braeden Pamphlet, have you read this? [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/824688
Comments: 15
Kudos: 96





	Congratulations

**Author's Note:**

> Ah look, the long awaited part three to this series! This idea has been sitting with me for a while, half finished, and because I have important phone calls and things I should be doing, I decided to sit down and finish it, as one does. 
> 
> And than you, to everyone, for all the comments and stuff on the last two, asking for more of this series!
> 
> ALSO EDIT: i just realized it's been almost a year since I update this series and all I can say is oops?

**September 2017**

_Three weeks._

_Three weeks since Dean came home to find all of Cas’ belongings gone._

_Three weeks since he found all the photos of the two of them burnt to ash in their bathtub._

_Three weeks since he found Cas’ wedding ring on the counter._

_Three weeks since Cas walked out and never came back._

It feels like a hell of a lot longer than three weeks. Maybe it’s been longer, maybe it’s been months, Dean can’t tell anymore. Lately he’s been going through the motions, mind elsewhere. His whole body felt numb and heavy, weighed down by the grief and heartache that couldn’t be shaken even with enough sleep or work. He couldn’t concentrate, his mind stuck on how what he had thought would be a brilliant idea ultimately hadn’t. His decision to publicly refute the rumours and accusations about him embezzling from his company had been to protect his legacy, but looking at it now, at his empty, cold and lonely house, he saw how spectacularly it had backfired. In protecting his name he had lost the best man he had ever known, and even his own family wasn’t speaking with him anymore. No phone calls, no text messages. Nothing since the article was released. 

In fact, looking at his phone, he noticed how quiet it had been lately. 

(He had muted notifications for his twitter after the scandal had gone public due to the sheer number of people tagging him in tweets, asking him questions and such.)

And the silence followed him from his house to work, trailing like an ever-present shadow. Most of his co-workers wouldn’t even look him in the eye, and the only proper words tossed his way were the constant reminders from his “enemies” who gleefully appeared to go out of their way to ensure he never forgot about his recent screw ups. 

Dean had tried to fix things, calling Cas’ number every night to give a proper apology, but each night it was the same: ringing over and over until it went to his answering machine. After a few days of no luck, he had tried to call Sam, but there was an icy silence from his little brother. And, after a week of trying, Dean had realized with utter horror that, in protecting his own self-image and legacy, he had managed to destroy every good thing he had once had. 

Now three weeks later (he thinks, he still can’t be sure, even if he glances at the calendar on his office wall), he finds himself in his office, head in his hands. His elbows rest on the sleek mahogany of the table top, feeling utterly defeated. Resting just in reach is his sleek black iPhone, which is still unlocked, screen displaying his recent call log. Dean had tried to call Cas earlier only to reach a monotone voice stating the number he was trying to reach had either been disconnected or did not exist. That had been a punch in the gut, the harsh reality that Cas had completely severed himself from Dean contacting him by changing his number. There was no room for the possibility to repair things now. 

The door creaks open and Dean can’t gather the strength to lift his head. He just assumes it’s Zachariah or someone else here to mock him, and at this rate, let them see him like this. What more could he lose?

The person doesn’t stop at the door, moving into the office and shutting the door behind them. The footsteps grew closer as the person walks towards him, stopping only when they got in front of his desk. 

“Oh how the mighty fall.”

Dean lifts his head, finding none other than Gabriel Novak standing in front of his desk. Instantly, making eye contact with him, Dean’s heart leaps in his chest. He knew that, while trying to reach out to communicate Cas had been fruitless, maybe Gabriel could help relay the apologies Cas didn’t want to hear. Even before they had started dating, Gabriel and Dean had been fairly good friends, so maybe their friendship was still partially intact?

“Gabriel, I --”

“Don’t,” Gabriel hissed, cutting him off before he could even finish off the sentence. “I can’t believe you, Dean Winchester.”

Dean flinched, not expecting the venom that dripped from Gabriel’s words. Part of him at figured Gabriel might not be well, pleased, with him after everything, but this was hatred. 

“You screwed up. Big time bucko. Like, congratu-fucking-lations because holy shit, even I didn’t think it were possible to fuck up that hard, and yet,” he gave a low whistle, “you took the fucking gold medal.” 

Dean rose from his chair, ready to speak but Gabriel didn’t let him. “You should be lucky that I’m the only one who came here because Michael, Lucifer, _and_ Raphael are all waiting downstairs to literally tear you to pieces. And,” he pauses, giving Dean a cold once over, “perhaps I should let them. Maybe I should throw you to the wolves and watch them tear you apart like you did to by baby brother. But, first, I want to deal with you myself.” 

He moves closer and Dean takes a step back, grateful for the desk between the two of them. 

“You broke my baby brother’s heart. No, you _shattered_ his heart. You _humiliated_ him. Embarrassed him publicly by sharing your dark little secret with everyone. He had to delete his twitter, changing his number…” Gabriel scoffed. “ _Hell,_ he can’t even go to the supermarket without seeing the scandal plastered over the front cover of every damn magazine at the register. You took his name and dragged it through the mud without a second glance!” He snarled, eyes dark. “You took rumours of jealous men and shared it with the _world_.”

“I _had_ to!” Dean cried out, trying to defend his actions. “They were going to ruin me, ruin everything I had spent years building and working towards!”

The temperature in the room seems to drop at his comment and Dean shivered. The look Gabriel gave him made Dean almost want to hide beneath his desk. Gabriel in that moment, certainly lived up to his namesake as Archangel of Judgement. 

“You ‘ _had to’?_ ” The words slip out in a quiet and even tone. _“_ You self-centered _bastard!_ Was my brother just a sacrifice for your own legacy? Did you just think that after you told the world of your affair Cas would forgive you? That you'd come home and apologize and Cas would smile and forgive you? _Did you actually fucking believe that would happen?”_ Gabriel snapped, moving until he was almost right up against the desk and Dean moved further back, silent. 

He doesn’t dare utter a word in that moment, and his silence speaks volumes. 

(Dean could never admit it out loud, especially not to Gabriel, but he had expected Cas to forgive him after all of this. He had expected some arguing, some yelling, maybe a few days of silence and space but then things would get better and they could be happy again.)

Gabriel looked at him with disbelief, coming to the same conclusion Dean did. “Holy shit. You actually did. You...You thought Cas would forgive you after what you did.” he gives a low chuckle,shaking his head. “Wow. I'm speechless.”

“Gabriel, please. You have to understand that I never intended to hurt Cas! I just --” 

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Gabriel, who narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. Dean can see how Gabriel’s hands are gripping tightly onto his arms, and he’s sure that Gabriel’s inches away from punching him. 

“You never intended to hurt him?” He echoes, watching Dean. “ _Never intended to hurt him?_ ” Gabriel repeated, raising his voice. “You cheated on my brother for a year! And you kept it a secret! You cheated on your husband of almost _eight years_ and then published it for the whole world to read, but no -- no, you _never_ intended to hurt him. It wasn’t like you weren’t going to keep it all a secret after you called the whole thing off when people began to get suspicious. No, you, good and honest and perfect Dean _fucking_ Winchester would never do a thing to intentionally hurt Castiel.”

Dean shrinks back, eyes flickering down to the desk between them and wonders exactly how sturdy it is. It could sustain the weight of an individual sitting atop it, sure, but the wrath of Gabriel? That was something else. 

He’s not quite certain it’d survive that.

Gabriel continues. “This happened over two years ago. For two fucking years you were silent about it all, coming home to your _faithful, loving husband,_ without mentioning the woman you were sleeping with behind his back, the _married_ woman you were sleeping with!" Gabriel uncrosses his arms, and his hands curled into fists."You were so focused on yourself that you didn't even consider once about Castiel!"

"Gabriel, just listen, please!” Dean pleads, trying to get a word in, but again, Gabriel doesn’t let him.

“Can you just shut up for one goddamn minute and listen,” he snarled, eyes flashing. “Cassie might’ve put up with your shitty apologies in the past, but not me bucko.”

Dean’s mouth snaps shut with a click, and Gabriel stares at him.

“You fucked up, hard and I’m so pissed it’s taking everything for me to not go over there and break your nose for what you did. It took me three weeks to even think of coming here and being able to tell myself to have an actual conversation with you instead of just trying to kill you on sight. And when I came here, what do you do but expect me to still be your friend, expect Cas to choke down your shitty excuses and come crawling back and everything will be fine?” 

He opens his mouth, ready to continue and Dean can see Gabriel wants to say more, but he just swallows and shakes his head. “No, it’s not even worth it. Yelling at you? It’s like kicking a wounded puppy, just _pathetic._ ” 

Gabriel then turns and walks away from the desk, moving towards the office door to leave. Dean doesn’t dare move or breathe, watching silently as the shorter man pauses at the door, hand on the doorknob. 

“I always believed you weren’t enough for my baby brother, regardless that you were my friend, and _god,”_ he sighs and it’s like the fight leaves his body, shoulders slumping. “At the beginning I was so sure. But when you two got married --” At this, Gabriel turns to look over his shoulder, angling his body to better face Dean -- “you don’t know how much I wanted to be wrong. I wanted to believe I was just the older brother who would always put his baby brother's needs over his own, thinking that Cas was just too good. That nothing and no one could be enough for him, like any brother does to his kid sibling.” 

Dean gets that, he does because he’d do anything for his brother to be happy, and he’d keep anyone away from breaking Sammy’s heart. 

“But you proved me wrong on that point. And then-" 

Gabriel gives a sharp laugh and the anger’s back. The laugh sounds like nails on a chalkboard to Dean. "Then you go and pull this shit and I realized I was always right. You were never good enough for my brother." He turns around quickly, earning another flinch from Dean. 

The other can tell he looks ready to walk back towards Dean, but stops himself seconds before he doing so.

"Gabriel,” Dean begins, not moving towards his ex-friend, raising his hands slowly. “Please, let me apologize to him.” 

He receives an icy glare. 

"Why?"

Dean blinks, not expecting the question. "What?"

"Why should I take you to Cas and make him listen to your sorry-ass apology?” The anger is back in Gabriel’s tone but Dean didn’t back away from it. Gabriel advanced towards him. “Why should my brother have to, after three weeks of trying to heal, have his wounds reopened by you, Dean Winchester, perfect Dean Winchester, who waltzes back into his life?”

Gabriel’s marched right back over to him, even going as far as moving around the desk that had once been a barrier between them, and when that happened, Dean took a step back for very step forwards Gabriel took. 

“Why should I let you anywhere near him?" Gabriel growled, having successfully backed Gabriel into the wall, looming over him despite being shorter than Dean. 

The questions keep coming, demanding and cruel and unable to take it anymore, Dean blurts out, "Because I love him!" 

The other flinches away like Dean slapped him, and both men are silent. 

"Because, I love him. I still love him," Dean continues in a softer tone. "He was everything to me."

Gabriel's face twisted and he looked like he had unwillingly bitten into a lemon. "You love him?” Gabriel’s tone was mocking, sarcasm dripping off his words. “You cheated on him for a year,” he deadpans. “That's not what people do to others they love or care about.”

Dean winces. He has a point. Regardless of what Dean might argue, Gabriel will always be right on that. Dean cheated on his husband. And it wasn't until his legacy was at risk did he say something.

"He might've been everything to you, but you still broke his heart and ruined the best thing you could ever have. And it wasn’t until now did you even consider what effect all of this might have on Cassie,” he hissed. “You could never find another person so trusting and kind. I was there by his side when he pointed to you and said, 'Gabe. That boy's mine' and I was there when he called me to come pick him up, heart ripped out of his chest.”

Both men stare at each other, Gabriel’s eyes flickering with barely contained fury and Dean’s with sorrow and regret. 

“Oh, by the way. Might want to check your mail at home for the divorce papers. I should hope you have no difficulty signing them,” Gabriel told him. “If you do, I’m sure Lucifer or Michael would be happy to help.” Gabriel then paused, allowing for the words to sink in for Dean. A cruel grin spread slowly across his face, sharp as a knife. "Congratulations Dean, you truly ruined the best thing in your life and I hope that you carry that guilt for the rest of your life." Then, without another word, Gabriel turns on his heel and walks right back to the door, opening it. 

His words are like a slap to the face and Dean’s knees feel weak, ready to buckle, as the door slams shut after Gabriel, taking his fury with him.

All that was left was Dean in his tiny office, back still pressed against the wall, chest feeling hollow. He can’t move, and without a warning, his knees do finally give out, his back sliding down the wall as Dean falls to the ground. 

_Congratulations you screwed up._

_Congratulations, he’s gone._

“He’s gone,” Dean whispers, uttered in a voice that sounds so broken and small. “He’s gone.” 

Then, the tears come, and Dean feels so alone. He can’t fix this.

**Author's Note:**

> I have been work-shopping more fics to potentially go in this series but I don't know if I like them enough to keep or just fully scrap them and leave the series with this as the final one. Guess we'll just have to see! 
> 
> Hope you guys have a wonderful new year!


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